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Mike Zarren Name to Watch for Pistons GM Vacancy

April 25th, 2014 at 9:56 AM By Sean Walters

Not many know his name, but he may just be the next general manager of the Detroit Pistons. According to reports, the Pistons are considering Boston Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren among others. The Pistons front office has done a great job of keeping the media out of their GM search, and this is the strongest candidate we have heard of yet.

There is no doubt that the race is on to get a new candidate in place. The season may have just ended, but the job of a GM never stops, so a replacement is needed as soon as possible. The general manager will essentially be the one choosing the coach, which the Pistons are also lacking. The draft lottery is also less than a month away, and with so many players leaving school early much time will be needed to scout the incoming class. The Pistons need to act quickly to fill the position, but you can see why they won’t be hasty with such an important decision. This will be the first new GM the Pistons will have hired since Joe Dumars took over the job in 2000.

So who is Mike Zarren, and how is he qualified for the job? Well, Zarren is a forward-thinker into the analytics and advanced statistics of the game. He has a Harvard Law degree and believes in the numbers and percentages of the NBA. Zarren dives through player statistics to find the proper matchups and edges for his team. He has studied under Danny Ainge, the original Big 3 architect, for the past 10 years in Boston. Zarren started as an unpaid intern for the Celtics and has now worked his way all the way up to the Assistant GM position he holds now.

Zarren was previously offered the GM position of the Philadelphia 76ers but turned it down before it was given to Sam Hinkie. One thing is for sure, Pistons owner Tom Gores has a tough decision to make, but Zarren sure seems like he could be on the short list.